Chrysler Corp.

April 19, 1985|By Deanne Brandon

SPEED SHIFTING. There definitely was a Liberty car, said analyst Scott Merlis of Shearson Lehman Bros. -- he saw it. Maybe not: ''I don't think there will be a Liberty car per se,'' Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca said Wednesday. Saturn: A high-tech compact Chrysler had said it would develop and produce. Analysts at a Chrysler dinner March 11 said Iacocca unveiled the Liberty name, tied it to production and showed them a working model. David Healy, an analyst at Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc.: ''Maybe they sharpened their pencils and decided that they couldn't build it.'' Company line: Chrysler issued a statement Wednesday saying there were no current plans for a Liberty car to compete with General Motors Corp.'s highly touted Saturn. Healy: Iacocca's latest statement is ''a total reversal.''